Al-Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi died in a drone strike in Pakistan two days ago.  Abu Yahya al-Libi was the second Al-Qaeda dangerous commander in Pakistan.

US officials described the death of Abu Yahya al-Libi as a ‘ major blow ‘ to the terrorist organisation. Abu Yahya al-Libi  death would be another dramatic moment for an American covert war in Pakistan that has been particularly active over the last year, starting with the death of the another group’s leader Osama bin Laden, in May 2011 and followed up by drone strikes against several senior lieutenants, including Atiyah Abd al-Rahman – who has represented al-Qaeda to other Islamist terrorist groups.

Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed in Pakistan

Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed when missiles destroyed his vehicle and a militant compound in North Waziristan and leaving at least 5 dead people. The details of his death in Hassu Khel, a village in the North Waziristan tribal agency, remained hazy. And it is not the first report that he has been killed : rumors of his death coursed through jihadi Web sites in December 2009 after a similar strike in South Waziristan that American officials claimed had killed a high-ranking figure in Al Qaeda. If his death is borne out this time, it would be a milestone in a covert eight-year airstrike campaign that has infuriated Pakistani officials but that has remained one of the United States’ most effective tools in combating militancy.

A Pakistan Taliban leader confirmed Libi’s death to Reuters, saying it was a big loss. Asking not to be named, he said that after al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, Abu Yahya al-Libi was the main al-Qaeda leader.

Who is going to replace Abu Yahya al-Libi

Al-Qaeda will have a difficult time finding a replacement for Abu Yahya al-Libi. US official speaking on the condition of anonymity, described  Abu Yahya al-Libi as one of Al Qaeda’s  most experienced and versatile leaders, and he said that he had played a critical role in the group’s planning against the West, providing oversight of the external operations efforts.

US intelligence said that al-Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi was the person who died in the attack, although others were present in the compound. A tribesman from the area who was speaking by phone and citing Taliban sources, told that three to five militants had been also killed. But he agreed that no civilians had died because there were no public funerals in this area. For decades much of Pakistan’s foreign policy has been geared to reducing Indian influence in Afghanistan out of fear it would face a two-flank struggle if it ever got into another military confrontation with a traditional rival it has already fought three wars against.

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